


Keep it Short

by SIX_Calavera



Series: Vault 364 [3]
Category: Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Angst, Boone/Reader, Caring and the start of an infuriating sense of longing, Craig Boone/Female Courier - Freeform, F/M, Oneshot, Short Story, Third Person POV, boone/female courier, character dynamics and exploration of character relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-25
Updated: 2016-01-25
Packaged: 2018-05-16 06:44:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5818129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SIX_Calavera/pseuds/SIX_Calavera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was impossible. Come to think of it, why did you even care? What did it matter what his past was; you could barely remember your own, as it were...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keep it Short

**Author's Note:**

> A short love story dedicated to a man named Craig Boone. Whom there was so much more to than anyone had anticipated.

He stared deep into the bonfire.Crimson flames reflecting in his irises. As if his memories were being played back to him within the flames. 

“I got bad stuff coming to me. You should keep your distance too.” he said, in a voice barely above a whisper. His words echoed off of the stone walls that surrounded them, seemingly infinitely.

The house they were in, mostly rubble now. Without a roof, the stars gleamed down at them, silently casting judgement.  
Huddling closer to their only source of warmth, their rigid figures casted playful, jumpy, shadows on the cracking walls.

She couldn't understand him. So much was shrouded and cloudy; and it was frustrating. She felt like the answers were right there, floating just below the surface; she squinted her eyes at him, for hopes of seeing them better, and said “Why do you think bad stuff is coming to you?”

His response was short and constricted “Because fair is fair...”

He didn't even look at her when he spoke. He just kept staring at the fire. As if the bonfire itself was directing the questions at him. Or perhaps he thought if he looked interested enough in it, you would stop asking questions.

He was impossible. Come to think of it, why did she even care? What did it matter what his past was; she could barely remember her own, as it were...she shook her head...and yet. 

“You're not going to tell me?” she pressed on.

“No...sorry.” 

And then. Nothing. Silence. She wasn't even surprised by him setting up yet another wall. Another wall that would only reflect her own guesses and imaginations about the inner workings of the man Craig Boone. But still it frustrated her, not being able to see beyond the walls was infuriating. Actually, It was safe to say it fucking pissed her off. 

Her hands twitched. Why was he just staring at the damn fire? She wanted to grab him and shake him. She wanted to hit him. He looked...so numb! So emotionless! She wanted him to feel something! Even if that meant feeling her fist connect with his jaw. How else does one try to solve a problem they can’t see? can’t possibly know? There probably is a better way but as of now she didn’t see it.

He noticed her twitching hands, her fists clench, her eyes on his knees, shoulders, face, chest, as if she was trying to decide which part of him to attack first. He watched her from underneath his dark sunglasses. It was dark out but he never took the damn things off, just another thing Boone chose to hide behind. He almost wished she would...hit him, that is. For the first time his eyes flicked up to meet hers. But in a split second she turned to walk away from the fire and to her bed roll. 

“We should get some sleep.” She said. Her back to him. There was still so much she wanted to say, to know. But she was afraid that if she heard him say ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’ one more time, she’d pummel him. They had been traveling together for a while now and she had to admit she wanted to help him, but he would never let her. She knew she didn’t have to...but she cared. After what little she had learned about him she had felt inexplicably drawn to him. But would he ever let her in?

“Yeah...” was all he replied, as he watched her walk away. Eventually she was only a silhouette in the darkness, just out of the reach of the orange glow from the flames. 

In his mind it didn’t matter what he wanted or felt, and despite himself he did feel a sense of kinship with this courier, but It was a matter of what must be. He couldn't choose the cards he had been dealt but he could learn to live with them. And living with them meant keeping his distance from everyone around him. That’s why when it was time to leave Novac, Boone had no problem leaving with the lone courier. But that didn't mean he was willing to share parts of himself with her, eventually she’d get tired of it and send him on his way. And like with so many things, Boone complacently accepted this. Though in a part of his mind he would never reveal, he hoped she wouldn't turn him away. 

Once again, Boone didn't get much sleep that night, and once again...she noticed.


End file.
